Case Number 17210

THE OFFICE: SEASON FIVE

The Charge

"I would like to invite you all to come along with me on a
journey...Welcome to The Michael Scott Paper Company!"

Opening Statement

As if to make up for the strike-shortened fourth season, The Office:
Season Five clocks in with twenty-six episodes, running ten and a half hours
-- besting last season by more than three hours and making it the longest season
yet. That should satisfy all the fans who complained about getting less for
their DVD dollar last year. But Season Five is more than a good deal.
It's a great collection of episodes. Gone is the pall cast by Dwight getting
dumped and Michael scrambling to appease crazy Jan. It's a brand new year for
our Officemates -- a year of new love, wedding plans, and the show's
100th episode. If that sounds a bit too happy, don't worry. There's
plenty of scandal and drama as well, in the form of cuckolded fiancees,
relationships torn asunder, economic recession, a tough new boss, and an
earth-shattering resignation.

Facts of the Case

The Office: Season Five has 26 episodes, across 5 discs:

Disc One * "Weight Loss" Summer goes by in a
flash as everyone tries to win a corporate contest to lose weight.

* "Business Ethics" Holly's first seminar uncovers a major
infraction that threatens her friendship with Michael.

* "Baby Shower" Michael's excitement about becoming a father
is dampened somewhat when he finds out that Jan already had the baby.

* "Crime Aid" When the office is robbed because Michael
forgets to lock the door, he holds a charity auction to recoup the losses.

* "Employee Transfer" Corporate finds out that Michael and
Holly are dating and sends her back to New Hampshire.

Disc Two * "Customer Survey" Jim and Dwight
team up to figure out why they got such bad customer service reviews.

* "Business Trip" An unlikely friendship is forged when
Michael, Oscar, and Andy travel to Winnipeg to meet with clients.

* "Frame Toby" The prodigal HR rep returns and Michael is so
bummed about it that he tries to get Toby fired...or worse. (Presented in an
extended version.)

* "The Surplus" A $4300 surplus divides the office on what
to do with the money: new chair or new copier?

* "Moroccan Christmas" Michael tries to force Meredith to go
into rehab after she gets drunk at the office party. Dwight corners the market
on a popular toy.

* "The Duel" Andy finally finds out about Angela's cheating
heart and challenges Dwight to a duel.

Disc Three * "Prince Family Paper" Dwight and
Michael are sent on an undercover mission to infiltrate Dunder Mifflin's
competition, who just happen to be the nicest family in the world.

* "Stress Relief" Dwight's misguided fire drill results in a
corporate mandate to reduce employee stress, which Michael turns into an excuse
to throw a roast for himself.

* "Lecture Circuit: Part 1" Michael is sent on a tour of the
other Dunder Mifflin branches to share the secrets of Scranton's success.

* "Lecture Circuit: Part 2" Pam and Michael make an
unscheduled (and forbidden) stop on his branch tour: Holly's office in Nashua,
New Hamphire.

* "Blood Drive" A Valentine's Day blood drive turns into a
chance meeting between Michael and a potential Ms. Right.

Disc Four * "Golden Ticket" When Michael's
Willy Wonka-inspired promotion goes horribly wrong, he forces Dwight to take the
blame.

* "New Boss" Michael goes from excitement to resentment when
the new corporate VP cancels his 15th anniversary party.

* "Two Weeks" Michael tries to recruit employees for his new
paper company.

* "Dream Team" The Michael Scott Paper Company assembles its
crack sales force, meets with investors, and moves into its new (and tiny)
office.

* "The Michael Scott Paper Company" Tension is high among
the employees of Michael's start-up paper company.

* "Heavy Competition" Dwight is caught between two bosses
when Michael asks him for inside information about Dunder Mifflin.

Disc Five * "Broke" Early morning deliveries
and cut-rate prices drive The Michael Scott Paper Company to the brink of
bankruptcy.

* "Casual Friday" Back in his old job, Michael causes a
Mifflin mutiny by rewarding those who stayed loyal to him and punishing those
who didn't.

* "Cafe Disco" Trying to lighten everyone's mood, Michael
converts his former paper company office into a combination coffee bar and dance
club.

* "Company Picnic" Michael and Holly are reunited at (and
accidentally spoil) the company picnic, while Pam and Jim get some exciting
news.

The Evidence

Though there's plenty of drama in The Office: Season Five, it feels a
whole lot happier than the fan-dividing Season Four. As always, the show's heart
are the relationships. From romantic to adversarial to completely indifferent,
laughs in The Office come from seeing the Dunder Mifflinites interact
with each other. Last year, those interactions were often uncomfortable to
watch, including Michael and Jan's dysfunctional relationship, Dwight and
Angela's breakup, and Ryan's corporate meltdown. Season four had plenty of great
moments, but even the writers must have realized that things got a little too
dark.

Season Five is a return to form on all fronts. Time is split more
equally between main characters and the supporting cast. There are plenty of
hijinks, office pranks, and one-liners to camera. Best of all, there's lots of
variety in the story arcs, and none of them overstay their welcome. Some
(Michael and Holly's relationship) could have lasted a little longer, but others
(the rise and fall of The Michael Scott Paper Company) are just long enough.

With more episodes to work with this season, there's time for lots of great
one-off episodes, too. Usually, Jim works hard to annoy Dwight, but in
"Customer Survey," they team up to solve a minor mystery.
"Business Trip" pairs up Oscar and Andy -- two great characters who,
surprisingly, go great together. "Golden Ticket" is classic
Office Michael, blurring the line between reality and a 1971 Gene Wilder
kids' movie. And "Cafe Disco" is just plain fun.

Even if you watched the episodes when they were on TV, it's worth getting
The Office DVDs for the extras. They consistently put other TV sets to
shame. This season in no exception. The centerpiece of the bonus features are
more than three hours of deleted scenes that are just as good as what got left
in. They can be watched either from the episode list or all together in the
bonus section on each disc -- a nice touch. I'm also happy to report that
they're finally presented in the same anamorphic widescreen as the episodes
themselves. Hallelujah.

There's also ten episode commentaries (a big improvement over last season's
paltry quartet), a 14-minute blooper reel, hilarious Super Bowl and Beijing
Olympics-themed TV promos, a "100 Episodes, 100 Moments" collection
from every episode so far, and the two complete webisode series from last year:
"Kevin's Loan" and "The Outburst." The longest single bonus
feature is a 30-minute Q&A with the cast and crew recorded onstage at the
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, hosted by Andy Richter. The sound and
picture quality of the live taping may be lacking, but it doesn't detract from
all the juicy tidbits for fans.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

Season Five is great, but it's not flawless. The Michael-Jan
storyline, such a big part of season four, ends abruptly with this year's second
episode, "Baby Shower." Actually, it doesn't so much end as it is
never mentioned again. The same is true of the Michael-Holly storyline. Everyone
knew The Office was only getting Amy Ryan for a few episodes, but in that
time they made Holly an integral part of the cast. It's frustrating to see her
pushed aside so soon after she and Michael start dating. The most annoying
subplot this season, though, has to be Pam's brief stay in New York, away from
Jim. Credit goes to the writers for not splitting the couple up, but shame on
them for even suggesting it might happen.

With more TV shows, including The Office, taking advantage of the
high-def format, you'd think the audio/visual quality of this set would be
higher. The widescreen picture looks fine, but the surround mix might as well be
stereo. And why do each of the five discs have the same clip reel behind the
main menu screens?

Closing Statement

The Office: Season Five isn't for the Jim and Pam haters. It's also
not for those who wish the show hadn't changed after Season Two. It's not for
the whiners, the nitpickers, or the Anglophile ninnies who can't see past the
original British version of the show. It's for those of us who love these
characters and can't wait to go to work with them every week.